Lawrence alumni donations set record

APPLETON - Lawrence University alumni donated a record amount to their alma mater in the past year, the school announced Wednesday.

During the recently completed 2013-14 fiscal year, $3.7 million was donated to the Lawrence Fund. That broke the previous record of $3,647,269, which was set in 2008-09.

An $804,817 donation from the class of 1964 - the most ever for a 50th reunion class - helped push the total to a record high.

The annual Lawrence Fund provides nearly 10% of the university's annual operating budget. College leaders say it also cuts each student's tuition by more than $10,000 per year.

"Making Lawrence more affordable is among our highest priorities," university president Mark Burstein said in a news release. "Support for the Lawrence Fund assures students and families from all incomes that a Lawrence education remains accessible at a time when they have less resources to support their children in college. No other form of giving has a more direct and meaningful impact on our students."

Overall, fundraising added $17,681,384 to the college's coffers in the past fiscal year.